Resistance and Persuasion Exam

Which (4) definitions of resistance are there?

1. a reaction against change: I don’t like it, I don’t believe it, I won’t do it

2. The ability to withstand a persuasive attack

3. an outcome: not being moved by pressures to change

4. A motivational state: motivation to oppose and counter pressures to change

What are the 4 stages or reactance theory (Brehm, 1966)?

1. Freedom (I do what I want)

2. Threat to freedom (I get told not to do X)

3. reactance (I want to do X)

4. restoring freedom (I do X, freedom is restored)

What are some effects of a freedom threat? (replies/ways to resist)

1. derogate source of (freedom) threat

2. increase liking for threatened choice

3. deny existence of threat

4. exercise different freedom

Which models could exist for the nature of reactance, according to Dillard & Shen (2005) and Rains & Turner (2005)

• purely cognitive

• purely affective

• cognitive and affective (distinct effects → dual-process)

• cognitive and affective (linear effects)

• cognitive and affective (intertwined effects)

Explain Politeness theory

People have a negative and positive face. Language is impolite when it violates one or both of these face wants

Positive face: fundamental need for approval, acceptance, and being viewed as competent

Negative face: fundamental need for autonomy and independence

Resistance to persuasion is a defensive reaction to an unjustified relational claim → threatening one or both aspects of face

How can language cause a face threat? And when is this risk smaller?

Forceful language is threatening → controlling, but also demeaning anyone who does not agree

Forceful messages are less likely to be viewed as a face threat when the source has greater/legitimate power, or the situation requires it (requires maximum efficiency)

What is persuasion knowledge (PK)?

Consumers’ knowledge and beliefs regarding marketers’ persuasion goals and attempts, as well as their underlying motives and tactics, and how persuasion works

Draw the persuasion knowledge model

What is advertising literacy?

an individual’s knowledge of and skills related to advertising. Works as a filter or radar, enabling consumers to critically evaluate ads

What is the difference between dispositional and situational advertising literacy?

Dispositional advertising literacy:

• advertising related knowledge and skills

• available all the time

• associative networks of information nodes

• Has a cognitive, affective, and moral dimension

Situational advertising literacy:

• applying dispositional advertising literacy when confronted with an ad

• Activating associative network

• Two-step process → change of meaning

  • recognizing persuasive attempt

  • critical reflection of this attempt (compined action of cognitive, affective, and moral advertising literacy)

Coping skills is the stop and think response that is the crucial connection between dispositional and situational advertising literacy

What are ways one could solve cognitive dissonance?

• avoidance

• suppression

• denial

• cognitive reappraisal

What is the difference bertween reactance and dissonance?

reactance is psychological response to autonomy/freedom threat, while dissonance is psychological response to self-integrity threat

Which 8 strategies for resisting attitude change are there?

1. attitude bolstering

2. counterarguing

3. assertions of confidence

4. social validation

5. selective exposure

6. source derogation

7. negative affect

8. derogating persuasive tactic

Which resisting strategy is most effective?

Counterarguing → effortful resistance seems most effective

BUT using multiple (additive resistance index) simultaneously is better

What do Valli & Nai (2023) mean with intertwined effects?

Individuals are expected to engage in multiple resistance processes/strategies simultaneously

Which resistance strategies become more effective through cognitive elaboration?

counterarguing, derogation of persuasive tactic, social validation, negative affect, and the intertwined resistance index

What is the ACE typology of Fransen et al. (2015)?

Categorises resistance strategies:

Avoidance

Contesting → actively refuting the message by challenging it

Empowering → reassuring the self or one’s existing attitude

Which 2 tactics are there to promote attitudinal or behavioral change?

increase approach forces with Alpha strategies

decrease avoidance forces with Omega strategies

(Some strategies (e.g. humor) use both strategies!)

Which 7 types of omega strategies are there?

1. sidestep resistance

2. address resistance directly

3. consume resistance

4. distract resistance

5. disrupt resistance

6. use resistance to promote change

7. address resistance indirectly (taking away the need to be resistant)

Which omega strategies with with which ACE typology category?

Avoidance:

• sidestep resistance

Contesting

• address resistance directly

• consume resistance

• distract resistance

• disrupt resistance

Empowering

• use resistance to promote change

• address resistance indirectly

When is it most useful to use self-persuasion?

• when a direct persuasion attempt is likely to fail

  • because important attitudes, habitual behavior, or difficult lifestyle changes are concerned

  • People don’t see the need to change/are not intrinsically motivated

• When the target group knows it’s important, but just doesn’t act upon it → confronting people with own hypocrisy (evoke cognitive dissonance)

When to use narrative persuasion?

• To neutralise avoidance → sender and persuasive intent disguised

• to neutralise contesting → source derogation and counterarguing are inhibited

• to neutralise empowering → involvement with characters can evoke vicarious self-persuasion, increase perceived vulnerability and self-efficacy, and change social norms and outcome expectancies

Make sure your narrative matches your target group though! Not all narrative are succesful in avoiding resistance

How does humor reduce resistance?

Both through creating positive affect (affective model) and distraction (cognitive model)

What is often an issue with sex(ual) appeals?

They’re so succesful that the reader/viewer doesn’t pay attention to the ad message anymore

What are the 4 stages of parasocial relationships?

1. initiation (first impression)

2. experimentation (several interactions)

3. intensification (establishment of relationship)

4. integration/bonding (maintenance of relationship)

What is the difference between parasocial interactions (PSIs) and parasocial relationships (PSRs)?

PSI: short, non-reciprocal interactions with media personalities

PSR: Long-term, cross-situation relationship with media personalities that develop over time

How does PSR neutralise resistance (Breves et al.)?

trustworthiness → less reactance/counterarguing → more persuasion

Which two types of persuasion knowledge are there according to Youn and Kim (2019)?

Conceptual and attitudinal

Conceptual persuasion knowledge: perception of a persuasive intent

Attitudinal persuasion knowledge: deceptive intent

How do disclosures affect persuasion knowledge?

Increases conceptual persuasion knowledge, but decreases attitudinal persuasion knowledge, because less feeling of deceit
→ balances each other out

Explain inoculation theory (McGuire, 1970)

People can build up resistance against unwanted persuasion attempts through prebunking → vaccine for persuasion

• forewarning (hey your beliefs might be challenged)

• refutational preemption (they might say A, but B is actually true/that is false because)

Which 6 degrees of manipulation were used in the Get Bad News Game?

1. discrediting opponents

2. appealing to emotion

3. polarizing audiences

4. impersonation

5. floating conspiracy theories

6. trolling

Which defensive responses to health messages belong to contesting, bolstering, cognitive reappraisal, biased processing, suppression, and avoidance, according to Fransen (2023)?

Contesting:

• counterarguing

• denial

• source derogation

• message derogation

Bolstering

• attitude bolstering

• social validation

Cognitive reappraisal:

• fatalism

• risk normalization

• religiosity

• downward social comparison

Biased processing:

• weighting attributes

• reducing impact

• optimism bias

Suppression:

• hiding fear

• alcohol/drug abuse

Avoidance:

• physical avoidance

• cognitive avoidance

• (mechanical avoidance?)

On which 4 major elements depends whether/how consumers activate/apply their persuasion knowledge?

source, message, channel, and receiver

Which information processing stages do children go through?

1. limited processors (under 7) → can’t properly process information yet

2. Cued processors (7-11) → need help (through cues) to initiate info processing

3. Strategic processors (12+) → have strategies to process information

Which 3 stages do children go through regarding interpersonal influence tactics knowledge?

1. Learning the concept of self-interest

2. Developing a conception of relationship

3. Understanding social welfare concepts → judgement of appropriateness based on altruism and moral rightness

Through which 3 stages of content knowledge do children go?

1. perceptual (3-7)

2. Analytical (7-11)

3. Reflective (11-16)

How can advertising literacy be operationalised according to a cognitive perspective?

-        Recognise advertising

-        Understand its selling intent

-        Understand its persuasive intent

-        Understand its persuasive tactics

-        Recognize the source of advertising

-        Identify the audiences an advertisement is targeted toward

-        Next to a cognitive component, a moral one can also be distinguished, which is about the ability to morally evaluate the appropriateness of the advertisement and format.

-        A third component of dispositional advertising literacy is the affective or attitudinal dimension, which is about the importance of emotion regulation to counterbalance the affective reactions evoked by the persuasive messages.

What is the difference between narrative empathy and narrative sympathy?

Narrative empathy: perspective-taking and vicarious experiences (identification)

Narrative sympathy: caring for characters’ predicaments without identifying or empathizing with them.

Both have been argued to facilitate persuasion by distracting attention from persuasive intent and suppressing resistance.